


The End isn't Always the End

by Chasyn



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 3 chapters I think, And I can't take it!, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Because I need to fix it in my head, DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE!, Endgame, Fix-It, Happy Ending, He shouldn't have died, I'm just gonna stop saying how many chapters, Is that enough tags?, M/M, Minor Character Death, Morgan called Steve papa, Morgan is adament, Morgan is still there, Movie Spoilers, Now there's gonna be a 4th chapter, Pepper and Tony share custody, Short, Short Chapters, Spoilers, Steve's Job is to Save Daddy, Stony - Freeform, THIS IS FOR MY CHILD, TO HELP US DEAL!, Wait now 5 chapters, because i love him!, steve/tony - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-07 13:43:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18621799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chasyn/pseuds/Chasyn
Summary: Steve's job was to save Tony.  And he wondered, if he could somehow do it.





	1. Papa's Job

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HierofSlytherin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HierofSlytherin/gifts).



> Avengers Endgame fix-it. WHERE I SAVE THE DEAD PEOPLE I NEED TO BE ALIVE! So if you haven't seen Endgame yet, GO AWAY! CUZ THIS IS MAJOR SPOILERS AND YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED AND I NEED TO WRITE THIS TO DEAL! Steve/Tony, bad language, non-cannon. 8D

Steve glanced down at his sleeping daughter. She looked so cute, so peaceful. She didn't understand. She hugged an old Iron Man helmet to her chest as she slept and _she didn't understand_. He didn't really expect her to. She was only four, how could she understand? There were tears in his eyes as he sunk down on the edge of her bed and lowered his head. He should leave the room before he woke her, he knew. But he couldn't move. He should go back to his room. But he couldn't. He hadn't been able to sleep in their bed. He was certain he never would again. It was too big, too empty without _him_.

Steve wiped at his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Tony had forgiven him for the lengths he went to save Bucky. Tony had forgiven him and let him back in. And Steve felt whole again. He hadn't realized how much he needed Tony near until Tony was gone. Those three weeks of thinking Tony dead in that space ship were agonizing! But they were reunited again. And Steve would never let the eccentric billionaire out of his sight again. And then something had happened. Something that had been brimming under the surface for years. And they just fell together. They fit together.

For the past decade, Tony had been there. They'd been through it all together. And even when he wasn't physically, he was always in the back of Steve's mind. So when Tony returned to Earth, broken over Peter, Steve helped put him back together. The kid couldn't be replaced, they all knew that. But mentoring Peter had awoken in Tony a need he never knew before; being a father. Pepper had offered without a second thought and less than a year later, Morgan was born. Tony and Pepper shared custody. As the years went by and Steve and Tony continued the thing they'd accidently started, Steve was included in that.

The little girl stirred. Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked in the dim light. "Papa?" She said, looking up at him.

Steve quickly wiped at his eyes and turned towards her. "Hey, Pumpkin." He said with a smile. He reached out and brushed away the hair from her eyes. He tucked the stand behind her ear and damnit! She looked so much like Tony. He could see it in her eyes and her smile. Tears were in his eyes again and he pulled away to wipe at them.

"Papa, why are you crying?" She asked, frowning.

Steve shook his head quickly and forced a smile. "I'm not, sweetie."

She sat up in bed, finally letting go of the old helmet. "Yes you are. You say lying is bad!"

Steve breathed out and nodded. "I do say that."

Morgan nodded her head. "You're crying! Do you have a booboo?"

Steve smiled sadly and nodded his head.

"I'll go get daddy." She pushed her blanket off. "Daddy kisses booboos and makes them better." She said, moving towards the edge of her bed.

There were more tears in Steve's eyes as he shook his head. He put his hand on her tiny arm, to stop her. "Sweetie, daddy can't fix this." He said softly, his voice barely a whisper.

Morgan settled back on the bed and tilted her head. "Why, papa?" She asked.

Steve breathed out and shook his head. He closed his eyes for a moment. "Do you remember what mommy and Uncle Happy tried to explain today?"

Morgan nodded her head. "Mommy said daddy's not coming home. But he's home now." She said, nodding her head. "Daddy's always home when it's bed time." She said adamantly.

Steve shook his head, his heart breaking all over again. "Morgan, daddy's not coming home."

"Why not?" She asked.

Steve's voice caught in his throat for a moment. "Because he's gone, sweetie."

Morgan breathed out loudly and tilted her head. "Then go save him!" She said, throwing up her arms.

Steve blinked at her for a moment. He opened his mouth slowly but nothing came out.

"Papa, go save daddy and bring him back!" She said. "That's your job."

And she'd been right. It was his job. To save everyone. To bring them home alive. That had always been his job. _Bring Tony home_. Those words plagued him the next few days as he assisted in the clean up and waited for a new portal to be created. Every night, he'd go home and Morgan would remind him again. Go save daddy. It was his job to save daddy. And as he stepped up onto the finally completed portal, he began to wonder. Bruce had made a promise to return the stones, to the exact moments they were taken. Steve offered and insisted on going alone. The others offered and he shook his head. "This is my job." He'd said. And it was. He breathed out as he walked out into the center of the portal, holding the handle of the briefcase in a death grip. Could he do it? Could he save Tony? Could he do what their daughter and his heart asked of him?

"Alright." Bruce said. "It'll be how ever long he needs to return the stones for him and about five seconds for us." He said. A few feet away, Bucky and Sam stood. The both looked doubtful and concerned. They should be. They hadn't been around to see it work. But neither said anything. Bruce straightened up and looked over at him. "You ready, Cap?" He asked.

Steve turned slightly and nodded his head. He bent down and picked up Thor's hammer. "I'll be right back." He said with a smile.

"See you on the flipside." Bruce said, laughing at his own joke. He punched in the coordinates and flipped the switch. The machine lit up and whirled and a moment later, Steve was gone. Bruce looked down at his terminal and began to count. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." He hit the buttons again.

The lights flashed again and Steve appeared. But something was drastically wrong. And he wasn't alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh! I have SO MANY FEELS AND FRUSTRATIONS WITH THIS MOVIE! I WILL RANT ABOUT THEM IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! Right now I need to sleep.


	2. Greener Sides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Papa loves you 3000 and you are the world."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG. The amount of hits and views and comments and OMG. I wish I had more time and energy to devote to this, to make it some really awesome, long and descriptive thing instead of this short thing. But I don't. Cuz of work. And I need to write it now instead of waiting until work settles down. BECAUSE I NEED TO WRITE TO HELP ME DEAL AND PROCESS! SO I AM SORRY IT'S NOT WRITTEN BETTER! Also I only saw the movie once and cried through most of it so... this whole thing is probs gonna be littered with inaccuracies. But from what I do remember, I don't think a lot was actually explained anyways. XD So whatever. THIS IS WHAT I AM DOING!

Steve breathed out slowly as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He sunk down on the edge of his too-empty bed and held the phone up, in front of his face. He breathed out again as he opened the camera app, hit the selfie mode, and pressed record. "Hey, Pumpkin." He said softly with a smile. "I'm leaving now to do what you said. I'm going to go save daddy. I'm going to try my hardest and I promise, I won't give up. Hopefully we'll be back before you wake up from your nap. But if we aren't..." Steve paused for a moment. He glanced away from the phone as he blinked away tears. He could do this. Tony did this, he could, too. He owed it to Morgan, just in case.

Steve breathed out and looked back at the screen. "I have a plan, Morgan." He paused and tilted his head slightly. "An idea." He corrected. "I have an idea." He shook his head and looked away again. "A crazy idea that I have no clue how I'm going to pull off." He mumbled under his breath. He shook his head and looked at the screen. "Just in case you don't see us when you wake up or if it's just daddy here, I want you to know that I tried, because I love you and I would do anything for you, okay? Never forget that, Pumpkin. Papa loves you 3000 and you are the world." He had to wrap this up, before he started crying again. He didn't have time to start it over. He needed to get going. Bruce was waiting for him.

"Pepper, if you see this... I'm sorry." He sighed and lowered his head a bit. "But I have to try." He said softly. "I didn't tell you or anyone else... because I honestly have no clue what I'm doing or if it's going to work. All I know is I have to try and I didn't want to endanger anyone else. I love you guys and... I hope... you don't... have to watch this..." His finger hovered over the stop button for a moment and he shook his head. It was stupid, it was. What he was planning. Stupid and dangerous. It was something Tony would try. And that thought alone gave him the hope he needed.

Steve hit the stop button and dropped the phone on the bed, right in the center. If he didn't come back, someone would find it. He headed for the door.

**-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

He went back and returned the stones like he was supposed to, one by one until the Soul Stone was last. He had been telling the turn earlier, when he recorded that video. He had no clue if what he was about to attempt would work. Or if it would backfire in some way. Many fictional works said the past couldn't be changed without altering the future in some way. But Thor had talked with his mother and stolen that time's Thor's hammer, Loki had escaped with the Tesseract, Tony had spoken with his father even though the man didn't know who he was, and the Gamora of 9 years ago was loose in the future. None of those incidents seemed to affect the future, at least not in a way they could detect. Steve wasn't even going to fathom a guess as to why. He wasn't ashamed to admit he had no idea how it worked. He wasn't even sure any of them did. He left the heavy thinking part to Tony. He always had.

He typed coordinates into his device and moments later, he was on Vormir. Voices stilled him and he ducked down. He could hear Thanos, the man's voice loud. And Gamora. He had to move quickly. He had one shot at this. If Thanos saw him, he'd go down fighting. But the whole team had been beaten by Thanos more than once. Steve knew he didn't have a chance on his own.

The briefcase had been discarded. It was too bulky and cumbersome, especially with just one stone remaining. The Soul Stone was safely tucked away inside his suit. He quickly held up his time heist device and typed in the next destination. Then he stood up and lifted Thor's hammer. He twirled it above his head. Gamora heard him. She turned towards him and tilted her head. She made no sound but Thanos had caught her expression. He turned slowly.

Steve took aim and let the hammer go. It flew towards Thanos and smashed into the side of his face, catching him off guard. Steve ducked down quickly and held out his arm. He called the hammer back and it flew back to him, knocking into Thanos on its way. The alien man landed on the ground with a thud.

Steve caught the hammer and immediately spun it over his head again. When he let it go a second time, he kept a hold of it and let it lift him off the ground. He soared in Gamora's direction and held out his hand. She didn't hesitate to reach for it and Steve pulled her up against him. "Hold on!" He said as they flew away from Thanos.

Thanos was on his feet in seconds, screaming. He turned and ran for the ship.

Gamora watched him. "He's heading for his ship." She said.

He hadn't exactly thought this through enough. He had the device programmed and ready, but he couldn't exactly free his arm from holding Gamora. He didn't want to chance dropping her. "I need my hand." He said.

Gamora nodded, no further explanation needed. She shifted her hold and twisted until she was on his back. She wrapped her legs around his waist, effective sitting on his back. "Better?" She asked, leaning forward a bit.

"It'll work." He said as he held his hand up, near his head. "The button in the center." He said. "Hit it and hold on."

Gamora, again, didn't question him as she leaned down closer, over his back. She reached out and tapped the button. The portal opened and they were sucked inside in seconds. Gamora stifled a scream as they weaved through the blue pulsating lights.

Steve wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her tightly. "Close your eyes." He said. "It's easier." They both did so and seconds later, they were back on Vormir, this time at the bottom of the cliff.

Gamora pushed away from Steve. Her eyes were wide as she looked around frantically. "Thanos!" She hissed.

"He's not here, okay?" Steve said, glancing back at her. "That was 5 years ago."

She frowned and tilted her head. "5 years ago?" She repeated, disbelief in her voice.

"Yes!" He hissed lowly. "Keep quiet!"

"But why..." She started.

Steve turned and stepped towards he. He grabbed her hand and pulled her down behind a large rock. "Be quiet and stay hidden." He practically begged. "No matter what you see."

She looked like she wanted to protest. But she lowered herself to the ground and didn't.

Steve stood up and stepped closer to the rock wall. He looked up and concentrated. He thought he could just barely see them at the top. Clint and Natasha. They were bickering back and forth, over which one of them would fall and which would survive. Steve's heart caught in his throat for a moment. The two were getting closer to the edge. He needed to save her. He needed to save Natasha and somehow still give a stone to Clint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve has reasons for going after the girls first. They will be explained later.


	3. Old Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The idea sickened him the moment he had it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My plot line for this was: STEVE SAVES EVERYONE! That was it. That was my starting plan. 98.3% of this I am making up as I go along. XD And it probs makes no sense. BUT MOST OF THE MOVIE MADE NO SENSE! SO THERE! I DO WHAT I WANT!

The Soul Stone required a sacrifice. How was he... his eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. The idea sickened him the moment he had it. But if he could save Natasha... Steve turned back to Gamora. He pulled out the Soul Stone and shoved it towards her. "Take this." He said. "I'll be right back."

Gamora's eyes widened. She took the stone and held it in her palm. "Is this... the Soul Stone?" She asked.

Steve nodded as he lifted his time travel device. He typed in the time and coordinates.

Gamora tilted her head. "You got it here?" She asked. "On Vormir?"

Steve nodded. "Natasha's soul is trapped inside."

Gamora glanced up at the cliff, her eyes wide. "Natasha?"

Steve nodded again. "That's how it works. You have to sacrifice someone close to you. Then the Soul Stone appears."

Gamora looked down at the stone. "So he threw me over." She said softly. "You came back to save me... because in your time... he used me."

Steve nodded. "He did. Without any guilt, your sister said."

Gamora looked back up at him. "Nebula? Is she okay?"

Steve nodded. "As far as we know." He stood up. "I promise, when this is all over and we go back, myself or someone will explain everything. But now, I need to go. I'll be right back. I promise." He hit the button without waiting for a response and was sucked away.

Steve landed outside the nursing home he'd grown accustomed to years back. He sucked in a breath as he headed inside. For a fleeting moment, he wondered what it would be like to go back, to his time. To the 1940's and see Peggy again, as he really remembered her. To pop back up in her life and maybe go on that first date and learn to dance. He'd loved her once, imagined her as the love of his life. If he couldn't save Tony, he could go back to his old time and live out his life there. But, the fleeting thought was just that. Fleeting. Because Tony had become the love of his life.

And even if they hadn't spent the last 5 years making a life together, Steve could never do that to Peggy. He'd only known her for a few months before. And she had 70 years to live out her life while he was frozen. She dated, married, had kids and grandkids. She had her job and her career. She had her own life, without him. He could never take that away from her. And the friends and family he had in the future, he could never abandon them. They were his life. And Morgan. He could never purposely leave her. And he prayed he came back to her, with Tony. Morgan deserved to have her dad in her life and Tony deserved her, too. Steve owed it to both of them to try.

He remembered where her room was and he remembered the schedules of the caretakers. He navigated the halls quickly and stepped into her room. His breath caught in his throat for a moment. Old and frail, but alive as she had been when he woke up, 70 years late for their first date. He'd never gotten to say goodbye. She'd died in her sleep, peacefully. Tonight. He didn't have much time. He hurried and knelt down at her bedside. "Peggy?" He said her name softly and hoped she was still lucid enough. "Peggy."

She opened her eyes slowly and blinked. As her eyes focused, a smile spread across her wrinkled features. "Is this heaven?"

Steve smiled and ducked his head. His heart still fluttered at her words. "Almost." He said softly.

She let out a laugh and shook her head. "If it were heaven, I wouldn't be in this bed and we'd be dancing."

There were tears in Steve's eyes and he suddenly felt horrible for even having the idea in the first place.

Peggy grew serious and frowned. "Steve, what is it?" She asked.

"Peggy... I need to tell you something..."

"What?"

Steve blinked for a moment and shook his head. "I want you to know I love you. And just the thought of doing this, it's eating me up inside. I don't know if it's right, but it's the only way I can think to save her. And maybe the only way to save him."

Peggy frowned. "Who?" She asked.

Steve looked away for a moment and breathed out. "I come from about 8 years in the future."

She cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head for a moment. But she didn't ask and just nodded. "Continue." She said.

"There's this bad guy..."

"Always is."

Steve nodded. "It's a long story and we spent years fighting him and trying to fix what he did. But in the end, he got his hands on the Infinity Stones. You remember the Tesseract?"

She nodded her head. "I am familiar with the stones."

"There's six of them." Steve said. "And this guy, Thanos, he got all of them. We didn't understand the power... or his plan... but he... he wiped out half of all life, in the whole universe."

Peggy's eyes widened. "Really?"

Steve nodded. "Clint's whole family, half our team... Bucky... so many..."

Peggy reached out and touched his hand. "I'm so sorry, Steve."

"We got them back." He said quickly. "Everyone... except.." He breathed out and shook his head. "We didn't know what getting one of the stones meant... until it was too late. The Soul Stone... requires a sacrifice."

"Who?" Peggy asked, not skipping a beat.

"Natasha." Steve answered.

Peggy nodded her head slowly. "Alright. Let's get going."

Steve frowned. "What?"

Peggy stared at him. "You want to use me to get the Soul Stone and go back to stop Natasha from sacrificing herself." She said, putting the puzzle together before he even got to ask.

"I uh... yes." He said numbly.

Peggy nodded. "Let's go."

"I wanted to ask you." Steve said.

"I say yes."

"After I explained everything."

Peggy shrugged slightly. "I'll still say yes."

Steve shook his head. "Peggy, we don't know anything about the stones. Or what happens..."

"I already said yes." She said stubbornly, her mind made up. "You're just wasting time."

Steve smiled slightly. "Time travel." He said.

Peggy tilted her head. "Either I die helping you save Natasha or I die in this bed. I would much rather help you than stay in this bed. However long I have left."

"Tonight." Steve said softly. "You die in your sleep tonight."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Then come on! We better go."

Steve breathed out and tilted his head. "So sure."

"Steve, sweetie, I would do anything for you." She said earnestly.

Steve swallowed and looked at the floor. "I know you would... but... I should tell you..." He started softly and paused for a moment. "It took us five years before we were able to come up with a plan and figure it out. During that time... Tony and I... we became... close." He said awkwardly. " _Really_ close."

"I get it." She said with a smile. "That's fine, Steve. That's great. I'm happy for you."

"You are?"

She nodded. "You don't have to feel bad for having a life." She said. "I had mine. I spent years looking for you... and many more years thinking about you. But... I moved on. You know that. I met my husband and we were happy, until he died." She sighed. "Yes, I still thought about you occasionly, about what would have happened if we'd gone on that date. But I loved my husband. And my kids. And I will die happy."

Steve nodded and smiled, real and genuine. Hearing her words helped alleviate his guilt. "We have a daughter, with Pepper. The three of us sort of share custody."

Her eyes lit up. "You do?"

Steve nodded. "I don't have a picture, I left my phone there and this stupid suit doesn't really leave room for a wallet."

She laughed.

"She looks like Tony..." He said and trailed off. His smiled fell and he let out a sigh. "Tony... he used the stones to wipe out Thanos and his troops... and the stones killed him."

Peggy reached out and touched his shoulder. "Steve, I'm so sorry."

Steve felt the tears in his eyes and wiped them away. "I'm going to try to save him. For Morgan. And... for me."

"Then come on. Help me out of this blasted bed!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BAH! I wanna whine about the movie. XD But I'm been working these long ass night shifts. XD Cuz work issues. And pretty much, all I have time for when I get home is typing up the stuff I work on breaks at work. And then time to sleep again. So I can wake up and go back to work. EVENTUALLY I WILL WHINE!


End file.
